[ Chapter 40 ]
When a person is too surprised, they can’t say a word.
Droplets of water trickled down between the flat, well-toned abdominal muscles. Between them, the attractively placed navel led the gaze lower to the sharply indented iliac furrow in a fan shape, naturally drawing the eyes downward. Of course, he was wearing pants.
“Lemony, can you tell me why you’re here?”
Hastily looking up, the man’s face came into view, tilted to one side. His golden eyes, revealed through his wet silver hair, shone as if they held pure gold.
“…Ah.”
It was the moment his pretty boy image changed in an instant. It was deeper and more intense than I thought. I hadn’t realized it because I was always with Deon, but seeing his face up close again, his features were deeply chiseled and sharp.
“Lemony?”
Seeing my dazed reaction, Ian seemed to finally realize his own state. Then, the tightly closed corner of the man’s mouth curved into an attractive smile.
“Would you like to come in first?”
“Huh?”
“It seems like you have something to say, so don’t just stand here.”
Ian was still looking down with a subtle smile. As I continued to glance at his body in embarrassment, his large, wet hand gently rested on my shoulder.
“Let’s talk inside.”
When I came to my senses, I was sitting in Ian’s modest room. Seeing no bed, it seemed to be just a storage room he was using. Glass bottles and what looked like prison supplies were piled here and there.
“Sorry. If I had known you were coming, I would have dressed nicely and waited, but I just came out of the shower. At least I’m wearing pants.”
He put on a shirt and dragged a chair over to sit in front of me.
“So, what brings you here, Lemony?”
As he leaned his upper body forward to meet my eyes, water droplets from his still-damp hair dripped onto the back of my hand.
“…I came because I had something to say.”
Feeling embarrassed, I leaned back, and Ian, who had been intently watching me, chuckled softly.
“What is it?”
Is it okay to say it in this situation? Of course, it was true that Ian had wronged me, but judging from how I had ogled him until just now, I didn’t seem to be in a position to get angry. But what Ian did and my ogling don’t really compare, do they?
Ahem.
I cleared my dry throat. In any case, I had decided to talk, so I had to go through with it.
“With everything going on and people constantly increasing, it seems like I didn’t finish the story from the torture room last time.”
“Hmm.”
As if telling me to continue speaking, he responded with a low hum, resting his elbow on the table beside him. Should I say it? Now that I saw the man’s face, my lips wouldn’t move.
“….You’re not going to do that to me again, right?”
“Do what?”
“Suddenly drinking my blood or confining me, those kinds of impulsive actions.”
There was a brief silence, contrary to my expectation that he would respond right away. His golden eyes, now lost in thought, gazed at me silently. His wet hair glistened, reminiscent of silk. His soft features contrasted with his sharp nose, but there was a dangerous aura of a predator in those golden eyes with a menacing glint.
“Well.”
When his low voice finally broke the silence, I held my breath. This man hadn’t kept the silence to ponder his answer.
“I kind of came all this way wanting to do that, so I might feel a little disappointed if you stop me.”
The silence had been carefully planned because he found my reactions to his actions amusing. And his plan was effective. The moment I met those golden eyes, a shiver ran down my spine and my entire body went rigid.
“Lemony, truthfully, I don’t really care about escaping or anything. If I get out of here, I’ll have to deal with the things that created the monsters anyway, which doesn’t work for me.”
Even though I had told him not to, his long, straight thumb brazenly pressed down on my lower lip, sliding it from side to side. My voice trembled as my chin was gripped and I tried to speak.
“…What if I don’t want that?”
Ian let out a low laugh.
“Are you really sure you don’t want it? You couldn’t take your eyes off me earlier.”
“That was an unavoidable situation.”
“Same for me, Lemony.”
His hand that had been caressing me slid down. His touch moved along my forearm and stopped at my wrist.
“For me too, when I look at you, I can’t help…”
“…Ugh.”
A groan escaped my lips involuntarily, and I flinched my shoulder. Ian, noticing my reaction, blushed slightly as if he was excited.
“Wow, Lemony. You can feel it?”
Damn. It hurts. He had touched a spot that was swollen from muscle pain. Having not felt pain for a while, the sudden sensation made it more sensitive.
“It hurts.”
The man’s expression changed abruptly at those words.
“Didn’t you say you couldn’t feel pain?”
“Where does it hurt? I didn’t see any injuries on your wrist yesterday.”
I tried to pull my hand away quickly, but he grabbed my elbow and began examining my wrist.
“Was it that bastard?”
His lowered voice sent a shiver through me. Can a person change so suddenly like that? When I raised my downcast eyelids to meet his gaze waiting for an answer, an utterly chilling face was staring back at me.
“No. It was from shooting practice.”
“A gun?”
His cold expression finally began to relax as he repeated my words slowly.
“I don’t know why I suddenly feel pain. Though it seems less severe compared to others…..”
“Someone who feels it less wouldn’t make those kinds of sounds.”
Though his expression softened, he didn’t stop his sharp remarks.
“And why are you comparing your pain to others’? Pain is pain.”
Ian, who had been staring intently at my swollen wrist, furrowed his brow and put his forehead in his hand. Then, as if unsatisfied with something, he rose from his seat.
“It looks like you need an ice pack, but there’s probably no ice here, so let me go see if there’s any cold water.”
Without waiting for my reply, he went outside. He was like someone who had lost his appetite.
◆
It rained continuously for several days.
“Lord Ian, Leilia has shared some of her food. Would you like some?”
“What is it?”
“Jerky.”
When the watcher entered and offered the jerky, Ian replied flatly,
“If it was raw meat, I would have eaten it.”
“But you should still eat. You haven’t had anything for days, um…”
At that moment, the guard, deep in thought, swallowed nervously.
“What’s with you?”
The guard’s gaze was unsettling. After staring at Ian with a concerned look for a while, he seemed to make a decision, closing his eyes and starting to unbutton his frill.
“If you’re really struggling, you could have some of my blo—”
“I’m gonna puke. Button it back.”
“Yes. Then I’ll bring the jerky to Lord Deon instead.”
As if he had expected such a response, the guard hurriedly buttoned and turned to leave, prompting an incredulous laugh from Ian. The real madman was probably the watcher, never losing his foolishness even in these annoying circumstances. However, the watcher’s concern for Ian was not an overreaction. In fact, Ian had not eaten anything in the three days he had spent here.
The first reason he didn’t want to eat was that it was raining, so he no longer wanted to go outside. If he didn’t drink human blood, he would have to drink animal blood to sate his appetite, but with the continuous rain for days, no animals would come out either.
The second reason was simply a lack of appetite.
“It hurts.”
Precisely, he hadn’t wanted to eat anything since hearing Lemony say those words about being in pain. Ian’s jaw slowly tightened as he gazed pensively out the window. Letting out a sigh, he leaned back against an abandoned sofa.
He had thought the tears and suffering of others indicated an intimate relationship.
Perhaps he had mistakenly seen it as a kind of attachment. Generally, the women who had provided him blood would blush and look at Ian with trembling gazes, despite their inability to handle the pain.
He was, after all, a noble of the Ermest family. Sharing the secret of a man in high society was a temptation no woman could resist. Most women under Ian’s control gasped for breath in ecstatic shivers, despite their struggle.
But Lemony’s reaction was just one of discomfort. Discomfort. Not pain nor pleasure, simply discomfort.
“…Why is it so ambiguous?”
His brow furrowed at the elusive answer. For something like this, he should just ask the person directly. Without hesitation, he rose and headed towards the room where Lemony and that odd woman were staying. Luckily, the door was slightly ajar.
“Thank you, Leilia.”
But his steps halted at Lemony’s unexpectedly cheerful voice.
“What is there to thank me for? I just attached a strap to your gun to make it easier to carry.”
“You even put jewels on the strap.”
“You like jewels?”
“No.”
Through the open doorway, a platinum-blonde woman was beaming radiantly.
“I just thought I could meet such a kind person, even in Dreys Prison.”
For a moment, it seemed sunlight shone on the air surrounding Lemony. Showing her white teeth in a childlike smile made her look much younger than her actual age. Suddenly, entering the room felt awkward, as his presence could change her cheerful expression.
Did he really need to? He could just go in and engage in conversation, right?
“…Tch.”
His lips twisted sharply. For the first time, Ian felt uncomfortable with that woman.
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Thank you for reading! ♡
[ There Are No Bad Military Dogs ]
